Milky Way Galaxy

The quadrants of the Milky Way
The Milky Way Galaxy is located in the map (click to navigate)

The Milky Way Galaxy was a galaxy that contained over 400 billion stars. This galaxy generated its own magnetic field. The field had dips and peaks. (TNG: "Pen Pals"; ENT: "Azati Prime")

The Milky Way's disc was surrounded by a massive energy field of negative energy called the Galactic barrier, which makes travel into and out of the galaxy difficult. (TOS: "Where No Man Has Gone Before", "By Any Other Name")

In 2269, the center of the galaxy was explored and found to be a creation point. By 2287, the core had become surrounded by the Great Barrier, containing a planet thought to be Sha Ka Ree by Sybok. (TAS: "The Magicks of Megas-Tu"; Star Trek V: The Final Frontier)

In the real world the center of the galaxy is a supermassive black hole called Sagittarius A*.

In the science of stellar cartography, the Milky Way was divided into four major areas called quadrants: Alpha, Beta, Gamma and Delta (the first four letters of the Greek alphabet), each of which compose one-quarter of the galaxy.(TNG: "The Price"; Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country, VOY: "Pathfinder")

By 2267, there were Humans on a thousand planets in the galaxy. (TOS: "Metamorphosis") Between 2064 and 2364, Humans had charted 11% of the galaxy. (TNG: "Where No One Has Gone Before") Within a year, the Federation had charted an additional 8% of the galaxy. (TNG: "The Dauphin")

A map of the Milky Way Galaxy was on display in Astrometrics aboard the USS Voyager from 2377 through 2378. (VOY: "Inside Man", et al.)

In the mid-22nd century, scientists estimated that there was only one out of every 43,000 planets in the galaxy supports intelligent lifeforms. (ENT: "Fight or Flight") A century later, this estimate had been revised. Scientists than theorized that there were millions of planets that could support intelligent life. (TOS: "Metamorphosis" Research expeditions had cataloged hundreds of uninhabited planets in the galaxy that were suitable for colonization. (TOS: "By Any Other Name")

According to Dr. Leonard McCoy, there was a mathematical probability of three million Earth-type planets in the galaxy. (TOS: "Balance of Terror")

An expedition sent by the Kelvan Empire, from the radiation-imperiled Andromeda Galaxy, scouted the Milky Way for possible invasion in 2268. (TOS: "By Any Other Name")

The name of the galaxy was first mentioned in "The Counter-Clock Incident". The name would be mentioned again in "Course: Oblivion" and "Tinker Tenor Doctor Spy".

"The Explored Galaxy" star chart was first seen, chronologically, Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country set in 2293. The chart was also seen in several Star Trek: The Next Generation and Star Trek: Deep Space Nine episodes set in the 24th century, from the year 2364 to 2370. These were: TNG: "Conspiracy", "The Measure Of A Man", "The Emissary", "The Mind's Eye", "The Game" and DS9: "In the Hands of the Prophets", "Cardassians".

VoyagerAstroLabMilkyWay.jpg

A depiction of our Milky Way Galaxy as it was seen in the Astrometrics Lab aboard USS Voyager

The Milky Way divided into quadrants

"The Explored Galaxy" in 2293

Voyager flight path Astrometrics.jpg

A map of the Milky Way Galaxy showing Voyager's intended flight plan

Appendices

Related topics

• Species and cultures, listing all inhabitant species
• Alpha Quadrant
• Beta Quadrant
• Gamma Quadrant
• Delta Quadrant

External link

• Milky Way Galaxy at Wikipedia
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